EVIDENCE INFORMED PRACTICES TO SERVE ASIAN/PACIFIC ISLANDER DOMESTIC VIOLENCE SURVIVORS

Transcription

1 EVIDENCE INFORMED PRACTICES TO SERVE ASIAN/PACIFIC ISLANDER DOMESTIC VIOLENCE SURVIVORS Domestic Violence Awareness Month 2018 Asian Pacific Institute on Gender Based Violence Chic Dabby, Executive Director October 2018 Acknowledgements Survivors teach and inspire us! Our movement provides a powerful and solid infrastructure Our communities sustain us and our hopes Women leaders, advocates, activists serve as agents of change Asian/Pacific Islander (API) advocates have anchored cultural frameworks to address domestic and gender violence in the unique A Z Advocacy Model FVPSA: Family Violence Prevention & Services Act funds national resource centers & state coalitions for training, technical assistance, research, publications; and services (1,239 shelters, 247 non shelter programs, 146 Tribal programs served 1.28 million victims in 2017). 2 1

2 Culture of Gender Based Violence Violence against women, girls and marginalized identities is perpetuated by cultural beliefs and norms that devalue them; and legitimized, obscured or denied by familial and social institutions, which: normalize or minimize abuse blame victims and excuse abusers ignore gender bias, sexism, misogyny promote aggressive masculinity institutionalize women s devaluation of other women use men s roles & achievements to exonerate, excuse, deny the impact of their behavior. 3 2

3 Lifetime Spiral shows: 1. Historical nature of gender based violence and that sexism and misogyny are foundational, violence isn t accidental 2. Types of abuses girls and women are vulnerable to, or experience at different stages 3. Different perpetrators are located across lifecourse 4. Help seeking can be influenced by positive and negative experiences/attempts in the past 5 Ethnic & Identity Specific Cultures All ethnic groups have cultural identities; gender norms Strengths: Cultural identities contain the histories of a people that include traditions, struggles, achievements, triumphs. Cultures nourish pride, resilience, belonging, intersectional identities, connection to community Harms: Cultures prescribe and maintain traditional patriarchal gender norms and roles; define transgressions from these norms; and patrol the boundaries of what is and isn t culturally acceptable, enforcing compliance by violence, rejection, fear, or even death by a thousand paper cuts 6 3

4 How has DV Awareness Influenced Cultural Changes for Asians/Pacific Islanders? Denial domestic violence is not a problem in our community 150+ CBOs/programs all over the U.S. designed by and for Asians/Pacific Islanders Silence to preserve family honor women, youth, LGBTQ survivors telling their stories of abuse, trauma, resilience Victim blaming making shame change sides Frozen culture new/existing generations, activists, advocates, communities keep re defining culture Traditional family structure Women, men, GNC (gender non conforming) members pushing back on old norms Rigid gender roles sharing responsibility of 1 st (jobs) 2 nd (parenting/housework) 3 rd (emotional labor) shifts 7.. DOMESTIC VIOLENCE IN ASIAN PACIFIC ISLANDER (API) HOMES The presence of domestic violence tell us about the presence of inequality in the relationship, the extent of the violence tells us about the extent of the inequality 8 4

5 Domestic Violence Is a Pattern Domestic violence is a pattern of behaviors intended to gain or maintain power and control over a partner to intimidate, frighten, terrorize, humiliate, blame, injure. It includes: Violent acts resulting in injuries, and even death Sexism, misogyny, devaluation, humiliation resulting in a climate of subjugation Coercive control are abuses marked by their routine nature to establish fear, dependence, domination Systematic, repeated, oppressions resulting in complex trauma Domestic violence is not couples conflict Domestic violence is not caused by stress 9 Domestic Violence: 1 in 3 Women 10 5

6 26% 80% men perpetrated physical & sexual violence against a partner (Men surveyed in 6 Asian/Pacific Islander countries) 11 Domestic Violence in Asian Homes: Extent of the Problem 41 61% experienced domestic violence 64% of Indians/ Pakistanis, 56% of Filipinas report intimate sexual violence 68% of Filipinas & 50% of Indian/Pakistani women report being stalked 78% of homicide victims were women, 83% of perpetrators were men Childhood Exposure Being hit regularly as kids: o 80% of Koreans o 79% of South Asians o 72% of Vietnamese o 70% of Cambodians o 61% of Chinese Witnessing Homicide o 60 (of 63) non fatal child victims were ear or eye witnesses to maternal homicide 12 6

7 Differing Dynamics: (1) Physical Violence Multiple Abusers Single Victim Battering and coercive control in extended family home by male & female in laws, ex wives, natal family member Stalking: Monitoring activities and visitors, cyber stalking; exercising abusive controls from afar Withholding Necessities: Food, healthcare, medication, climate appropriate clothing, daily use items (like soap) Transnational Abandonment: Wife &/or kids abandoned in home country or in the U.S. without any resources Marry & Dump: Brides dumped by husbands (sometimes, untraceable) who file almost immediately for divorce Abusive International Marriages: Older men marrying very young women/teens. 13 Evidence informed Advocacy: Multiple Abusers Impact of Multiple Perpetrators More injuries, controls, victim blaming, family collusion Diminished credibility in systems, less help seeking Children are fearful of extended family; isolated from mother Intervention Implications The Question is the Intervention: Women are not lying, denying, minimizing, protecting their abuser Determining if there are multiple abusers and what tactics they use greatly enhances safety planning Accompanying relatives cannot be assumed as being survivor s support network Legal remedies should be designed to address safety from multiple abusers Train police, legal, health, social services, etc. to assess/ask 14 7

8 Differing Dynamics: (2) Emotional Abuse Push factors out of the relationship by abuser and/or in laws more frequently than pull factors back into the home Coercive Control micro controls marked by frequency, routine nature; surveillance Severe isolation by inhibiting contact with family in the home country and other support systems Using religion & culture to justify abuse, to enforce nexus of shame and public disclosure silence victims, blame them for dishonor to family, exile survivors from community Natal family pressures to tolerate abuse & stay in marriage, and refusing to help her if she leaves/returns home Stigmatizing divorced women and mothers Demeaning widows, exploiting their dependence on family. 15 Evidence informed Advocacy: Emotional Abuse Intervention Implications: Understanding How Push Factors and Culture Affect: Push factors shrink space for decision making, autonomy Acknowledge/ assess severity of push factors Children Plan early how mother & children will leave/stay together, in case mother is pushed out Survivors feel afraid and trapped by coercive controls Don t make assumptions about empowerment, autonomy Religion is used to force silence, obedience, sacrifice Provide accurate information to counter such views Help seeking Prepare survivors to navigate systems, supportive family, community and professional resources 16 8

9 Differing Dynamics: (3) Sexual Violence Reproductive coercion, particularly given son preference Being forced to watch and imitate pornography Infidelity, women being forced to tolerate it Women accused of/punished for alleged infidelity Bodily humiliation/body shaming (also by female in laws) Exposure to HIV, STIs by transnational husbands /partners with second families or engaged in sex tourism Sexual violence in home countries: family, community & system responses are used by batterers to demean, reject, silence, blame or further violate intimate partner Extreme sexual neglect and coldness, jealousy. 17 Evidence informed Advocacy: Sexual Abuse Intervention Implications: Identifying Impact of API Cultures: High levels of victim blaming/shaming unpacking survivors responses within API patriarchal contexts and addressing them in trauma informed frameworks Victims coerced into community/family designed solutions recognize coercion, validate its traumatic impact on victims Family rejection identify contexts such as SA by state actors or male in laws; LGBTQ identity; dating prohibitions for teens Overlooking/ignoring injuries dispelling ignorance &/or shame about body, anatomy Silence enforced to protect family honor acknowledge that silence can be self protective Advocate discomfort can be barrier to survivor disclosure identifying and training on causes: such as personal histories, internalized cultural biases, SA vocabulary in API languages 18 9

10 Differing Dynamics (4) Immigration Status Abuses Connected to Immigration/Refugee Status Refusing or neglecting to file paperwork for status changes Escalated deportation & other threats in current climate; reporting undocumented survivors locations to ICE Using survivors lack of English proficiency to manipulate systems, claim victimization Exploiting refugees triple trauma from conflict transitresettlement stages to silence DV victimization Blocking access to support, assistance, benefits, services, job training, English learning, etc. Controlling economic resources Making false accusations against survivors 19 Evidence informed Advocacy for Immigrant/ Refugee Survivors Safety Planning Means: Leaving may not be option because: Individual, family, community histories inform decision making Life and death assessments of danger are collective (not individual) Deep, irrevocable losses connected to trauma of leaving/fleeing Fears of being exiled from/losing connection to community Considering impact of immigration enforcement on victim services and protections: Harboring and transportation: addressing the legal obligations of CBOs serving undocumented survivors and criminalizing the sheltering of undocumented immigrants Responding to immigration agents detaining survivors Public charge: how utilizing government benefits food, housing, healthcare may jeopardize adjustment of status or applying for entry into U.S

11 Other Dynamics of Domestic Violence (5) Abuse Directed at Mothers Disrupting maternal child bonding Threated or permanent loss of custody/access to children False allegations of child abuse Stigmatizing divorced, single mothers (6) Abuse in LGBTQ/Trans Relationships Risks and harms for outed victims are elevated in homophobic communities Elevated systems generated risks for trans survivors are exploited by their abusers/family members 21 Other Dynamics: (7) Elder Abuse Domestic violence by partner Multiple perpetrators, single victim Abusers can be family or non family care givers Multiple types of abuses, including sexual Hyper exploitation for household labor, childcare, etc. Demeaning and isolating widows Withholding food, medications, community connections Coerced suicide pacts, mercy killings, family unwillingness to investigate domestic violence related homicides by elderly parent 22 11

12 THUS, Addressing API Specific Dynamics Means: Safety from multiple perpetrators Knowing how push factors affect women s decisions, autonomy Identifying and responding to trends e.g., marry & dump How immigration status is a tool of abuse and current policies & procedures impact survivor safety and service utilization Breaking the nexus of public disclosure & shame heaped on victims, but not on perpetrators Maintaining survivors connections to community, overseas family Addressing family community and systems generated trauma due to fleeing conflict zones, home countries, and extreme loss Confronting community leaders to be part of the solution instead of the problem Working with our communities to challenge and change traditional gender roles to build gender equality 23 A-Z Advocacy Model is an inventory of evidence-informed practices in response to existing/new trends in gender violence and inter- and intra-api cultural and linguistic diversity. It is anchored in 5 principles. 12

13 Evidence-informed practices to address API-specific DV trends/dynamics PRINCIPLE #1 : Survivor centered advocacy is based on a culturally specific definition and analysis of DV and related barriers What does this mean for survivors? They don t have to: Explain cultural & familial contexts of abuse and community generated barriers Feel scrutinized because they are not acculturated Fear their disclosures will be sensationalized to confirm racist stereotypes Distrust that interventions will disrupt their connection to community 25 Evidence-informed practice to address API-specific DV trends/dynamics IMPLICATIONS FOR PROGRAMS: Even small CBOs offer a wide range of services to survivors and are disproportionately relied on by mainstream programs. Of 160 API serving programs: 51% provide some type of shelter/housing 86% provide 18 types of support services: top 2 being case management and interpretation 88% provide some type of legal services: top 3 being court accompaniment, protection orders, and immigration law assistance 26 13

14 Evidence-informed practice to serve API survivors of gender violence PRINCIPLE #2: Integrating impacts of lifecourse abuse and positive & negative help seeking experiences has expanded a culturally specific inventory of practices What does this mean for survivors? Culturally specific services can reinforce DV survivors trust in their advocate, resulting in help seeking for undisclosed histories of abuse over the lifecourse Increased access and mitigated barriers because services are not compartmentalized Lifetime Spiral of Gender Violence shows historical nature of abuse and its culturally specific impacts on trauma, help seeking, resilience, healing 27 Over 90 types of abuses addressed 28 14

15 Evidence-informed practice to serve diversity of API survivors PRINCIPLE #3: Services are designed to address ethnic & language diversity within and among APIs What does this mean for survivors? Survivors know they are not lumped into a single Asian category and advocates can differentiate their cultural contexts and language needs o Of 56 API ethnicities served by 160 programs, 41 were Asian, 15 were Pacific Islander Intra API diversity is also well understood o E.g. In each of South Asia s 6countries and vast diaspora, there are multiple intersectional intra ethnic, religious, language, etc., differences Bilingual/multilingual and bi literate advocates increase access to, and navigation within, systems Survivors w/limited English proficiency are respected 29 Language Services 30 15

16 Language Access: Key Interpretation Reminders 1. Bi lingual speakers vs trained interpreters have different skills/roles 2. Interpretation is most often in consecutive mode, sometimes in simultaneous mode 3. Basic rules: use first person; do not summarize; do not answer questions but interpret them all 4. Do not use culturally acceptable ways of addressing sexual assault 5. Interpreters are not cultural experts or linguists and should not be asked to or give opinions about cultural practices or meanings 6. Immigrant/refugee deaf survivors may not know ASL, they need relay sign language interpretation 7. Interpreters specialize in medical or court/legal interpretation 8. If possible, work with interpreters trained about domestic violence, sexual assault: they are familiar with the dynamics and vocabulary 9. Learn to identify and address poor interpretation right away 31 What Kind of Cultures Do We Want? We want cultures where gender parity/gender democracy, not gender violence, is the norm where relationships of power are replaced by relationships of meaning 32 16

17 Asian Pacific Institute on Gender Based Violence th Street #330, Oakland, CA This content was funded by a grant number 90EV0430 from the Dept of Health and Human Services (DHHS); Administration for Children and Families (ACF); Administration for Children, Youth and Families (ACYF); Family and Youth Services Bureau (FYSB). The viewpoints contained in it are solely the responsibility of the author and do not necessarily represent the official views or policies of ACF/ACYF/FYSB. 17